Undecided to the end: Lisa Boylan on regretting her vote

Before the election

Listen to Lisa Boylan describe how she researched the candidates, reflected on the issues and prepared herself for voting

On Election Day, Lisa Boylan says her hand hovered over the presidential nominees on the ballot as her head swam with the voices of her husband, her mother, her best friend and even her five-year-old son — all sharing opinions on who she should vote for.

We first introduced you to Lisa Boylan, an artist, author and mom from Forest Lake, Minn., just a few days before the Nov. 6 election as she was busy doing homework about the candidates’ positions on issues that matter most to her.

After filling in the oval next to Mitt Romney and turning in her ballot, the regret began almost immediately. It has stayed with her, throughout the rest of the day and all of last week — well after her chosen candidate lost Minnesota and the election.

Here’s Boylan’s take on deciding who to vote for at the last minute, and how she says she’ll do things differently next time.

The Undecideds Decide

Over the last two years, the Public Insight Network’s editorial team has heard from a LOT of voters — most with strong opinions and clear rationale for their votes on candidates and issues. So, naturally, the undecided voters stood out — mainly for their honest descriptions of the inner conflict that reflects both sides of our divided America. Now that the 2012 election is over, we checked in with three of our most memorable interview subjects about how they ultimately cast their ballots.

Anna Weggel is a Public Insight Analyst, which means she spends her time crafting questions about upcoming story topics to send to sources in the Public Insight Network and then produces web, audio and video content featuring those sources.

Before finding her home at APM in 2008, Anna received her B.A. in journalism, was the editor in chief of The Minnesota Daily, and internship hopped through Mother Jones, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Pioneer Press, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, and the Downtown Journal. Anna's non-work life is held hostage by the stage -- where she performs improv comedy and shows with her lady bluegrass band.